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Full Egynte Review

Egynte’s file server in the cloud can be appealing to businesses of all sizes that want a central file server for sharing and storing of company documents. Egynte’s uniquie Hybrid Cloud solution offers the best of both worlds, fast local access to files on end point computers and mobile devices while keeping files securely in the cloud. Started in 2006 Egynte and headquartered in Mountain View, California Egynte closed a $16 million round of financing led by Google Ventures in July 2012. Egynte is clearly not aimed at everyday consumers but at businesses with features such as user access levels and centralized administration over what usres have access to what files.

Getting Started
The first step to getting started with Egynte is simply signing up at the Egynte website. Like most cloud storage services you can upload, manage and share files easily from the Egynte web portal. The main difference between the Egynte web portal and the majority of the other cloud storage service web portals is the ability to create additional users and groups or users to make it easier to manage who has what access to the files. IT admins will want to use the web portal to create new users and groups as well as possibly download the desktop applications for Windows or Mac to install on the companies computers to make it easier for the end users to manage their specific files. Storage between all user is shared, just like a local network attached storage device with access being defined by the users role and group.

Desktop Sync
For most people the Egynte Desktop Sync software will be the most familiar type of desktop application. It syncs files between the cloud storage and their local machines. Like many other cloud storage services the install of the desktop app is easy and only takes a few minutes to comlete. Once the desktop sync application is installed installed the settings can be configured to select which folders from the cloud storage to sync to the local desktop. The application can be set to synchronize in real time, every so many minutes, once a day or manually. You can also set the folder that the files should be syncronized to, which would probably be a good idea for most people. The default folder on Windows was c:\Local Cloud which might makes sense for IT people but the average user would probably go looking for the folder under their home folder.

Once the desktop sync application is installed and is syncing files there is not much more you need to do. You can start using the files on your local machine and changes are uploaded back to the cloud file server. If you happen to be offline you still have access to the files and when you are back online the files will sync up. In a single user cloud storage world this offline access and syncing when back online is not a problem but in a multiple user world where the same people might make edits to the same file offline and then have them sync up it is possible that two people could edit the same file and in the latest version only have the edits of the last person to sync the file show. I was able to duplicate something like this using the desktop app and the Android app and only the last edit from the Android app was present in the latest version of the file on the cloud storage. Have said that Egynte does offer version and the edits done from the desktop where present in an earlier version of the file. There is also a lock feature that you could use to lock a file from another user editing it, but I could not find that in the desktop application only on the web portal. This is something to be aware of because it could cause headaches for both IT and end users if the work they do on a file seems to go missing.

Map Drive
The other desktop application I tested was the Map Drive application. This allows people to directly access the files on the cloud file server without a local copy. Once installed it maps a drive letter to the cloud storage and lets directly access the files. This is very similar to how most businesses use network attached storage devices or other files servers.

For many businesses they might want to use either the map drive application on desktops in the office and the desktop sync on laptops that regularly are moved off site.

Back Up
The Egynte website talks about the cloud file server acting as a backup, and while it has some features of a backup system like versions and an off site copy, I would not go as far as calling it a true backup. You could certainly use the cloud storage to hold copies of your backup files the synchronization aspect of Egynte. That being said because Egynte does save versions of a file and you can restore deleted files from them you could certainly use it to help your business recover from a data loss.

Mobile Apps
One of the strong points of Egynte is the many mobile apps that they offer for iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows Mobile, Kindle and even the Nook. Surprisingly there is no Blackberry app, but according to the Egynte website the web portal is usable on a Blackberry, but I have no way to confirm that. I did try the Android and iPad apps and they offered easy access to files, edit and upload back to Egynte. If your business needs to offer access to files when people are on the go using the majority of the popular devices Egynte has you covered. This will certainly be welcomed by IT who can still manage and control access to the files.

Sharing
If you need to share a file with someone outside of your business you can easily do that using Egynte. The web portal makes it easy to share as do the desktop sync app and the map drive app. You also have control over how long this links are good for, for how many clicks and if you want the share to be password protected. You can even be notified when that link is clicked so you know if your recipient got the file. You can also share from the mobile apps making it easier to collaborate on the go.

Overall
Depending on your businesses needs, Egynte has a cloud storage solution for you. They certainly cater to businesses and have features that help IT do their jobs while still letting employees get their jobs done no matter what device they are on. Egynte is certainly not a consumer cloud storage service that tacked business on the plans and that shows in how the service is meant to be used by businesses as a replacement or addition to their file serving needs.

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More Egynte Reviews

PC Mag

Egnyte’s “file server in the cloud” approach to storage offers very real cost savings potential for small businesses.PC Mag

ZDNet

By bridging local and remote storage, the hybrid service offers another twist on collaboration and file archiving.ZDNet

ITPro

The simple fact is that Egynte is both powerful, easy to use and has a wide range of access options to suit any business. Given this flexibility and control it’s the best online synchronisation service for businesses.ITPro

Macworld

Offers multiple methods for working with online storage; general ease of use via web browser; good security benefits; scalability potential; excellent support for mobile devices; one centralised access point for data is ideal for IT.Macworld